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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J-. 13. LIDDELL'. SAWMILL SETIWORKS.

' atented Ja (No ModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W, .-P.*LIDDE LL. SAWMILL SET WORKS. 2 2 Patented Jan 22,1884.

WITH/8858 v IIVIVENIOR I tqrney N. PETERS. Pholo-Lillwgmpl\u r. Washington In:

dex or pointer secured to the knee-guideway;

UNITED STATES rErcE.

PATENT SAW-MILL SET -WORKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 292,330, dated January 2 2, 1884.

' Application filed December 1, 1883. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,WALTER J. F. LIDDELL, of Charlotte, county of Mecklenburg, State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Set -Works for Saw- Mills, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

My invention relates to the means for adjustingthe log or other material to beoperated upon, and for indicating the relation to the saw, and adapting it to be -cut into boards or strips of uniform thickness and without unnecessary waste. 7

It consists in the combination, with the adj ustable knee or head-block, of a supplemental knee secured to one side of and adjustable with the main knee, and also independently thereof; also, in the combination, with the knee, of a rule or indicator applied to and moving with said knee, and a stationary inin a novel construction and arrangement of the devices for effecting and regulating the adjustment of the head-block, and in certain de-- tails of construction and arrangementof parts, all as hereinafter explained.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents in perspective a portion of a sawmill carriage, showing one of the knees, its track or ways, and the mechanism for adjusting said knee. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the same. Fig. 3represents a horizontal section through the adjusting mechanism. Fig. 4. represents a vertical-transverse section through a portion of the knee and its guideway, showing the indicator also in transverse section. Fig. 5 represents a section through the slotted segmental rack, showing the adjustable stop and its retaining-clamp. Fig. 6 is a detail view of a portion of the adjusting-lever and dog or doublepawl and spring connected therewith. Fig. 7is a side elevation of the knee and its ways, with the adjusting mechanism removed toshow more clearly the arrangement of the indicator. Fig.

. 8 is a vertical transverse section through the knee and [its ways, showing an indicator on 50 each side of the knee;'and Fig. 9 is a similar View, looking from the rear, showing the manner of attaching the supplemental knee.

A A represent longitudinal bars of the sawmill-carriage frame B B, the flanged parallel rails forming the ways for one of the adj ustable knees or head-blocks and O,'the knee adjustable thereon, said parts, except in particulars hereinafter explained, being of any usual or preferred form and arrangement. The knee 0 is provided on its lower face with a toothed longitudinal rib, c, pendent between the Ways B B, and with which a pinion, d, on a shaft, D, engages for adjusting the knee, which, by preference, is made in T shape, (inverted,) with the edges of the cross-head O grooved to receive the flanges of rails B B, on which it moves. a The cross-head is by preference extended over the rail B on one side, and provided in such extension 0 with an inverted- T- shaped groove, 0, open on the upper side,

0 adjustable in said groove c.. This supplemental knee is similar in formito the knee 0, and is made adjustable relatively to the latter, when required, for setting the log obliquely to the head-block, or away from one of the knees thereof, for any purpose, by means of a screwthreaded rod or shaft, 6, mounted in an arm or bracket, 0 on the side of the knee 0, and engaging a burr or nut, 6, fast in the rear face of the supplemental knee C The shaft 6 is provided with collars e e"-one on each side of thebearing-bracket cL-for preventing endwise movement of the shaft 0, which may be operated by a hand-wheel, E, or other suitable means for adjusting the supplemental knee as desired.

Upon one side of the knee, or of the vertical central rib on the upper face of the horizontal arm, is formed a pocket, F, for the reception of a rule or indicator, G, made by preference octagonal in form in cross-section, as shown; but it may be made flat, square, or in any other suitable form, its sides being marked to conform to the different thicknesses of boards to be sawed. Thus, the side indicating that the material is to be cut into threequarters of aninch in thickness will have its marks, say, one inch apart, allowing one-quar-.-

ter inch for the out of the saw, the side indiadapting it to receive a supplemental knee,

LII

eating that the lumber is to be cut into inchthiek boards, showing the marks one inch and a quarter apart, the surplus quarter-inch, or whatever it may be in each case, representing the width of the saw-kerf. The octagonal form will thus provide for eight different thicknesses, and obviate the necessity for a multiplication in the number of interchangeable rules or indicators, and by applying one of these octagonal rules 011 each side of the central rib of the knee, as shown in Fig. 8, a sufficient number of changes may be provided for ordinary purposes without the necessity of substituting other indicator-rules.

The way B or 13, either or both, has a pointer, 5 secured to it, the upper end of which overhangs the upper face or side of the rule, which will be the one indicating the thickness of the boards into which the log is to be sawed. This pointer may, if desired, be made in the form of a fiat angular spring, its point overhanging the rule and preventing displacement of the latter, while at the same time permitting the rule to be withdrawn for replacing it with another, or to be turned for bringing the desired side on top. The pocket for the reception of the rule is so arranged relatively to the knee as that when the rule is placed therein and brought into position with one of its marks opposite or in line with the pointer, before the carriage is started, with a uniform subsequent adjustment of the knee or head-block conforming thereto, the log will cut into boards of uniform thickness, without waste, and of the same thickness as the last board orstrip remaining on the carriage. The outer wall of the pocket F is cut away at points indicated atj'f, to admit the thumb or fingers, facilitating the removal and insertion of the rule G, as required. For effecting the adjustment of the knees, they are provided each with a pendent toothed flange, c, with which a pinion, (I, on a horizontal shaft, engages, as above explained. This shaft D has its hearings in the ways B and B, or in brackets thereon, and extends through all of such ways, and is provided with pinions for operating both or all of theknees of the head-block simultaneously when desired.

To one side of one of the flanged rails or ways B or B is secured a segmental plate, H, slotted at 71, to permitits adjustment, and secured to said rail by a belt or bolts, '1'. The outer edge of this plate and the slots 71v and h formed in it are in arcs of circles, of which the shaft D, passing through it, is the center, in such manner that in its adjustment the relation of said parts to said shaft is not disturbed.

The plate H is provided with a fixed spur or stop, h", which is adjusted with the plate, and a second adjustable stop, consisting of a perforated arm, J, pivoted on and adjustable around the shaft D as a center, is secured to the plate H, said arm at its outer end extending, like stop If, beyond the outer edge of the segment H. It is secured to the plate H by ,hao

means of a bolt, 1.", which passes through it, through the segmental slot h, and through a cam-faced washer or block, K, having athumbwheel or a lever, 7;, for facilitating its adjustment, and held in place on the bolt 7.1 by nuts In", the latter serving as a'jam-nnt for holding the nut I. and cam-block at the desired adjustment. The block K is rectangular in form, elongated in one direction, in such manner that when turned crosswise relatively to the slot h its ends will overhang the side walls of the slot; and said ends being made camfaced,they serve to draw the arm J up snugly against the plate II and to lock it thereto. Other means may be employed for securing the arms J to the plate, if preferred.

The plate H outside of the slot h has a segment-rack, L, the teeth of which are so spaced as to represent eighths of an inch each in the adjustment hereinafter described, and the adjacent face of the arm J is correspondingly toothed, so that when the two are clamped to gether, as above, accidental displacement of the arms or stop J is effectually prevented. \Vhen the elongated block or button K is turned into line parallel with the slot IL, it is sufiiciently narrow to enter said slot, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and so permit the disengagement of the teeth of arm J from those of segment L, and the consequent ready adjustment of said arm or stop nearer to or farther from the fixed stop h, as desired.

To the shaft D is keyed a ratchet-disk, M, provided on its upper periphery with ninetysix teeth, of substantially the form (V shape) shown, each representing an eighth of an inch in the adjustment of the knees or head-block, and pinion d is provided with twelve teeth, this arrangement of the teeth serving to move the head-block one foot at each rex'olution of the shaft D and its pinion d.

N is a lever pivoted on the shaft D, and provided with a double pawl, a, pivotedcentrally to and crossing its side adjacent to the ratchet-disk M, just over the latter, in such manner that either end may be engaged with said disk, according to the direction in which it is desired to rotate thelatter. This double pawl is connected with the lever N by the same pivotal bolt which unites a cross-head, D, to said lever, and the latter has rigidly connected with it a flat spring-arm, O,whieh extends upward by the side of the lever N, and serves, by its adjustment, to rock the cross-head for throwing either end of the double pawl into engagement with the ratchet-disk M or for releasing both ends, as desired.

The pawl is held in proper relation to the cross-head by springs a a and the springarm 0 is held in the desired relation to the lever N, for holding either end of the double pawl engaged with the ratchet-disk, by means of a pin, p, on the lever N, the adjustment of the lever to one side of said pin serving to throw one arm of the pawl into engagement with the disk, and the adjustment of the arm IIO O to the other side of said pin to throw the other arm of said pawl into engagement with the disk, while a central adjustment of the arm, allowing the pin to enter a slotor de pression, o, in the lever, serves to hold both arms or pawls clear of the ratchet-disk.

The side of the rail B adjacent to the disk M has an angular bracket, Q, secured to it, in the outer end of which is a pivotal pin or bolt, q, Supporting two ,pawls, q q", one slightly longer than the other, as indicated in Fig. 2, and provided with weighted heel-extensions or with springs adapted to hold them engaged with the teeth of the ratehet-disk, 'for holding the latter when adjusted and preventing its accidental displacement.

The lever N has a lug or spur formed on its inner face adjacent to the plate H, and which projects within the vertical plane of and between the stop It and J, and serves to limit the throw of the lever, controlled by the relative adjustment or distance apart of said stops. Thus the teeth on the segment-rack L and the teeth of the ratchet disk M represent each an eighth of an inch in the adjustment of the headbl,ock or knee, so thatif the stop h and J be so adjusted as to permit a throw of the lever sufficient to move the ratchet-disk a distance equal to the space covered by eight of its teeth the head-block or knee will be moved, under the arrangement of ratchetteeth and pinion above described, a distance of one inch, which, after deducting one-quarter inch for the width of the saw-kerf, would, as will be apparent, adapt the mechanism to'set the material to be cut into strips or boards of three-quarters of an inch in thickness, while if the lever is set to move the disk the teeth and the boards will each be one inch thick.

Parts of the carriage and its attachments not particularly described may be constructed in any usual or preferred manner.

Having now described my invention, I claim as new 1. In the set-works of a saw-mill, the adjustable knee provided with the grooved extension of its flange or base, in combination withvided with the fixed stop, in combination with the adjustable stop, also pivoted upon and adjustable around the pinion-shaft as a center, and the cam-faced block or lever for clamping said adjustable stop to the slotted segment H, substantially as described. I

5. The plate or segment H, provided with the fixed stops 71?, slot h, and toothed segmentrack L, in combination with the adjustable stop J, pivoted upon the pinion-shaft, and having teeth engaging said rack, and means for clamping said stop to said plate or segment, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the lever for effecting the adjustment of the head-block or knee, of the centrally-pivoted double pawl and the cross-head supporting said pawl in operative position, both pivoted to said lever, the socketed spring-arm rigidly secured to said cross-head for adj nsting it, and the'pin or spur I on the lever for gaging the throw of said springarm and holding it at the desired adjustment, all substantially as described.v

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 24th day of November, A. D. 1883.

NVALTER J. F. LIDDELL. Vitnesses: VINTON LIDDELL, T. S. FRANKLIN. 

